Friday, December 4, 2009

My lil Rocker

Bradyn LOVES music! He got a full drum set for his birthday. Its a super hardcore Skagg set that a friend bought for their teenager but were never used on a regular basis. B discovered them one day and played with such vigor that K and I decided he HAD to have them. His uncle stu got him this guitar for his second birthday and as you can tell he plays it like a pro.

Click here to: Check out his stance and the focus on finger placement!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Baby Shamu




We had a long fun day at Sea World .
My favorite quote of the day "MY baby Shamu! I want to TICKLE him!"

Yogurt


Me - "B you wanna do our yoga" 

B - "yeah" 

Me - (in my head) "my baby is so centered" 

B - "NO, NO, NO yoga! YOGURT!"

Me - "sigh...."

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Making Room for Better Stuff

“Elizabeth Chavez is making room for better stuff”. That was my Facebook status update this morning and I meant it!


These days I am so busy with work and school and all of the little tactical initiatives that have become central to my life. There is so much going on that I feel like I am missing my real, actual life. Its September NEXT week! How did that happen?!? Wasn’t it just January and I was begging it to hurry up and become July so that I could go to Hawaii? And then wasn’t it JUST July and I was thinking “Okay October hurry up so I can go to San Francisco”? And now August is over…. Did I even enjoy August or did I spend it waiting for something else? What did I miss while life was whizzing by me?

Well, lets see…. Bradyn’s feet got skinny! You know how babies have that little, soft, beautiful layer of fat on the tops of their feet? The one that makes it impossible to squeeze their feet into shoes. Well….. my baby no longer has that layer. Sometime between August the 1st and today his beautiful, fat baby feet became these beautiful, slender little boy feet that slide into a pair of boots with no effort. What’s next? When October rolls around, will he be running without the toddler waddle? Will I even remember the toddler waddle when it’s gone?

Once again, it’s time to edit my priorities…..

Those of you who know me well, know that this is a cycle. Every few months I realize that I am focused on work and school and busy with life and decide that I need to find ways to slow down and really enjoy the today. Recently, I read an article on http://www.zenhabits.net/ about living with less. The premise is that getting rid of the clutter allows you to focus your time and energy on the things that are truly important. The quote in the article that really spoke to me is “connect with others and your passions more”. My passion is my family, my goal is to connect with them everyday. Making this a reality is the hard part.

For me, the act of simplifying is not and never will be a one time event. It is a constant exercise in editing. Things change, focus shifts, before I know it I am knee deep in a new adventure. On a regular basis I have to reflect on what is going on and find places to trim and places to add so that I can enjoy each moment to its fullest potential.

This life I live is so wonderful, I don’t want to miss ANYTHING!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Dear three years old....

I really like you and was wondering... Will you hang out for a while? I'm not asking you to do anything weird or unnatural like stay forever....

I'm just saying, "would it be that hard for time to stop for a while?". Can't you stay still and let me enjoy this moment?

I love the little things about you...

The way he says "welcome mommy" in the place of "thank you"...

The "i'm fine now" after the dust has settled and he realizes that everything is in fact okay...

The "you got me?" when he is feeling insecure...

The "you love me?" when he grabs my checks and looks into my eyes...

I know that I will love four and five and ten just as much and for new and exciting reasons but.... I'm just not ready... So..... Can you? Will you? Will you stay? Just until I'm ready...

Monday, July 6, 2009

Father's Day 09










Bradyn, Kyle and I spent Father's Day weekend camping on the beach. It was sooooo awesome!








Swimming




Last week I was driving home from work, talking to Kyle on the phone. He said that he and B were out front "swimming". I imagined they were utilizing one of the 4 baby pools we own but........




Saturday, May 23, 2009

Bradyn's feeling better





B is a big helper, here he is washing the dog and watering the yard with daddy.

Friday, May 15, 2009

My sick baby...


B is super sick right now - he came down with "hand, foot, mouth" yesterday - he is MISERABLE. He basically has chicken poc like blisters in his mouth and throat and on his hands and feet. Send him some numbing cream and me some advil please!!!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Lets Unwind

This pic is from the lawn at the Alamo. Its from a Saturday a few weeks back, I had 2 finals that morning and had been frantically studying all week and not giving my family enough attention. Kyles mom was in town and after my test we decided to go downtown. We spent the day being tourists, rode the river taxi, took the tour where they tell you the story about the River, ate lunch on a patio and then walked to the Alamo. It was a wonderful day!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Playing the piano with Granddad


Bradyn LOVED our trip to Oklahoma! We had a blast hanging out with Grandma, Grandpa and Memi!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Earth Day


We decided to start a family tradition this year by celebrating Earth Day with a family "date night". We took B to his first feature film (not counting Alien vs. Predator when he was 5 months old).
This awesome movie follows a handful of animals as they migrate. I was a bit concerned that the movie would show more of the natural violence of the animal kingdom than B is ready for at 2 but we decided to take the gamble. The film makers did a fantastic job of using slow motion cinematography to build up the tension and then cutting away just before the blood. The film is breathtaking, the gorgeous landscapes and underwater sequences on the big screen were so moving. It really makes me sad to think that so much of our beautiful planet is being destroyed everyday and someday Bradyn may have to show his children this movie in order for them to comprehend how awesome things once were.
Bradyn LOVED the movie and delivered a mini state of the union address every few seconds. Luckily, we were surrounded by families with small children so no one was (or seemed to be) annoyed. Here is a sample of Bradyn's minute by minute updates:
"No BITE! Shew!" - spoken with authority and a wagging index finger as the polar bear was attempting to eat a Walrus. (did I mention he is bossy)
"I wet" - after he spilt an entire drink on himself and daddy.
"GO! Paddle!" - In a optimistic and encouraging tone to the whales as they were migrating to their feeding grounds.
"Mine!" - to the lady next to us as she attempted to place her arm on the shared arm rest.
"I got it!" - with pride as he retrieved a french fry from the sticky soiled ground.
"I want one!" - when he saw the fuzzy baby ducks learning to fly.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

just chillin


The ONLY way to relax is with an eyebag that smells of lavender.......


Sunday, March 29, 2009

Dinner with Mommy and Daddy


B's a Natural with the chopsticks!






More Veggie Tales

Our garden appears to be fruitfull!!!!

San Antonio Childrens Museum

Bradyn brushed up on his dental hygeine skills with the help of a pair of really large teeth, drove his first forklift and milked his first cow. It was quite the adventurous day.














Thursday, March 26, 2009

Veggie Tales

We started our garden last weekend. It was tons of hard work and Bradyn helped with every piece. First we had to get all of the rocks out of the area. He picked up a million little rocks and threw them over the fence. Each time he said "I throw". He helped Buelito Mario and Daddy build a fence to keep the rabbits out. When it was time to plant the seeds he followed me around plucking up what I had just planted and giving them back to me.
Every time I would leave a seed in the ground he would say "uh oh mommy, here, I got it". I am curious to see what survived!
It is going to be so fun for him watch the crops that he helped plant grow.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Beach



We spent our first day of the season at the beach last Sunday. Its a 2 hour drive from our door to beachside. B did great, we blame it on the fact that he has been road tripping since day 12 but whatever the reason, the result is our kid loves a journey. He woke up about 7, we loaded the car and were on our way. The weather was beautiful! We drove down the sand road casually discussing "should we set up here or drive further down, how about over there between those 2 families?" suddenly a litle voice from the back seat frantically called out "stop! here! OOUUUT!!!!!"
Once we got stopped and settled it was a party a minute. He was amazed at the feel of the sand on his toes. He LOVED digging and filling up his dump truck. He and Daddy built a little Bradyn sized pool that filled in with sea water when the waves reached us.
The water was so cold but that didn't stop B. He was relentless, chasing the waves as they withdrew and running back to shore as they chased him. We put his life vest on and he let his body go limp so the waves could lift him and carry him back and forth. He is a natural.
When it was time to leave he was devestated. He cried and cried and said "no leave! Beeeeeeaaach!"
He slept the entire way home and woke up Monday morning saying "Beach Mommy Beach".

The Litle Gym



Every Saturday B attends a "Mommy and me" class at the Little Gym. Since I have school every other weekend it became a "Mommy and Me" class two weekends a month and a "Daddy and Me" class the other two weekends. Kyle had so much fun he decided to join us on my weekends so it became a "Daddy and Mommy and Me" class and then last weekend Daddy was.... lets just say he was unavailable so it was a "Mommy and Aunt Alice and Cousin Victoria and Me" class. The bottom line is; in a slow but stratigic manner we are taking over the joint.

The class is really fun and B really likes it. We dance and we sing and he gets to play on all of the balance beams and parallel bars. Currently his favorite thing to do is the log roll. We try to entice him to forward roll but everytime he just smiles and wiggles his body around so that he can do yet another log roll down the cheese mat. Its so freaking cute.
We have gained a little insite into his personality in these classes. He is BOSSY. When it is time to put the toys away, he is the one telling the other kids what to do and taking their toys if they don't move fast enough. I really wonder where he got that from......